


it's hot, it's cold, i want you so

by orphan_account



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Black Paladin Lance (Voltron), Blood and Gore, Established Relationship, Hurt/Comfort, M/M, ish, lance is the best bf, oh boy, theres that too
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-09-23
Updated: 2018-09-23
Packaged: 2019-07-16 02:08:00
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,294
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/16076108
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/orphan_account/pseuds/orphan_account
Summary: It starts like this: the castle receives a distress signal from a planet called Efluna within the quadrant they’re stopped at. It’s urgent, they say. Come quick.





	it's hot, it's cold, i want you so

**Author's Note:**

  * For [advo](https://archiveofourown.org/users/advo/gifts).



> title comes from violence by dijon. its a good klance song. theres this line thats goes: "would you wait around for me? / im begging you violet." very klance.
> 
> a little interlude from the big project im working on!!!

It starts like this: the castle receives a distress signal from a planet called  _ Efluna _ within the quadrant they’re stopped at.  _ It’s urgent _ , they say.  _ Come quick. _

 

Allura trusts her paladins more than she trusts her own gut. They’re all exceptionally talented fighters with high intelligence and an unbreakable bond. However, Keith and Lance have always been the two with the  _ most  _ trust, the most chemistry--the best communication. Sending them out to onto Efluna together is a no-brainer. 

 

“Paladins, this mission is  _ highly  _ compromisable. It will require all the stealth you possess. There is a Galra base at the heart of Efluna that’s been slaughtering masses by the varga.” 

 

“Shouldn’t we all come so we have Voltron?” Hunk asks. He has the Altean equivalent of a rubix cube in his hand, playing with it absentmindedly. 

 

“No,” Allura shakes her head, white curls bouncing with the movement. “Voltron will cause too much of a ruckus and distraction. It’s a stealth mission.”

 

“Piece of cake,” Lance grins. He’s already suited up, the black of his helmet muted under the washed out lights of the castle. Keith is shrugging on his own paladin suit, patiently allowing Lance to fuss over him. He can’t stop touching his hair, as per usual.

 

“For all of our sakes, I sincerely hope so.”

 

.｡.:*☆

 

Efluna is a topographical mess of a planet. It’s rocky and mountainous and  _ extremely  _ dried up. It reminds Keith of the desert a bit.

 

“Where’s the fire?” Keith asks through the commlink, eyes focused on the skyline above him. Below, Lance is flying just above the ground. The air is so thick with ash and soot both of them can barely see, even with their Lion’s “headlights.”

 

“You’ll want to park the Lions in a discrete location,” Allura hums. Her voice is just a notch above stern, the way she gets when she’s worried and can’t control a situation perfectly. That’s not a good sign.

 

“ _ Discrete _ ? Good luck,” his boyfriend’s comforting voice snorts over the comms. “We’ll try to find some vegetation.” 

 

They scour along the planet for about twenty dobashes. They still haven’t even found the Galra base they’re supposed to be infiltrating, let alone any sign of life. Keith sympathizes with the worried wince Lance amits. 

 

He switches to the private commlink for a few ticks, heartbeat accelerating when his lover’s handsome face appears on screen. His eyebrows are furrowed and brown eyes relentlessly concentrated, and he’s never looked more handsome. 

 

“I love you,” Keith mumbles. He tries to will away the blush spreading across his cheeks.

 

“Hello to you too,” Lance grins. The brunette hasn’t let up from his focus, but his shoulders seem to have relaxed a bit, the grip on Black’s controls loosening. Good. “And I love you.” 

 

Keith will never, ever get tired of hearing those words from that lovely pink mouth. 

 

Finally, after a couple more dobashes, they spot a large mass of forest, littered with what Pidge reads aloud as  _ ashwood trees.  _ They’re an off-white and spotted a weird purple and have no leaves, but lots of branches. They kinda look like birch trees, if birch trees were alien and strange. 

 

The two park their Lions in a craggy clearing, Red landing dutifully beside his companion, Black, who’s large, armored body looms over his. Keith hears Red purr in delight. 

 

“The base should be up ahead. It’ll only take a bit to get there,” Allura says. “Please be careful of the plant life, Pidge tells me they have... _ snappy _ ones?”

 

“Snappy ones. We can do that.” Lance holds his black rifle over his shoulder, other hand poised on his hip, looking for all the world like a leader. Keith feels a surge of affection rush through his gut--he bites down his lovesick smile. 

 

As it turns out, Allura is right. It takes, like, five dobashes to get to the base. It’s concealed by those aforementioned trees, and Allura tells them they must be light on their feet to successfully complete the mission. The King of Efulan, a giant, masculine looking, squid-humanoid creature Allura pulls up a hologram of, is M.I.A. The Altean leads them with the hope that Skygar, the squid king, is inside. 

 

Lance stops, suddenly, and Keith rams right into his back with an “oof.” The taller turns around, shooting his boyfriend a cheeky grin as he holds out his unoccupied hand. “Walk with me.” 

 

They hold hands even when they sneak their way inside. Keith, being the  _ sexy half-Galra space ninja  _ he is, makes quick work of leading them up into the vents with Lance’s help. They crawl through, quiet as a mouse, pinkies interlocked. It’s hard, but they manage. They’re Paladins of Voltron, for crying out loud. 

 

Things seem to be going smoothly-- _ too  _ smoothly. The pair make their way through the vents without a hitch. There’s absolutely no Galra soldiers neither hide nor heir, which is just...really weird.

“Be on your guard. I don’t like this,” Keith whispers. He feels Lance nod his head, pressed up against his side. It’s not the most  _ ideal  _ way to crawl through a Galra bases’ rafters on a high-stake mission. Whatever.

 

.｡.:*☆

 

It’s  _ so  _ odd, how they make their way to the main control room without literally any disturbance whatsoever. There’s no guards blocking the entrance and no Commander of Operations inside. Keith feels unease churn in his gut. 

 

“It’s okay. I’m here.” Lance soothes his lover’s anxiety, rubbing his thumb over dainty, albeit calloused knuckles. They breathe together.

 

Lance doesn’t find any captives in the room, nor the prison cells. They must’ve moved them.

 

“This is a bust, Allura. Did you get the right location?” he whispers into his helmet. 

 

“I’m certain. Something is off.” Lance hums his agreement. 

 

“I’m calling the mission, boys,” Allura says, tone shaky and anxious. “It’s far too dangerous and feels as though you’re being lead into a trap. Get out of there. Now.”

 

“Rodger.” 

 

Lance flanks Keith when they hurry out of the room, rifle pointed in all directions and body on high alert. In front of him, Keith has his Marmoran blade in his right hand, bayard in the other. They move as one.

 

“I think we’re good,” Lance mutters. They’re halfway to the exit. Keith hums in acknowledgement. 

 

Lance doesn’t see it. He didn’t fucking see it. He let his guard down.  _ He let his fucking guard down. _

 

It’s over before it happens. As Lance spins around from his position at the front to smile at his boyfriend, the sight that greets him makes his blood run cold. A spear, bloodied and big and  _ horrible,  _ clean through his stomach. Keith is making these little helpless wheezing noises, body turning white. Lance can’t breathe. He can’t think. He activates his rifle, shooting the Galra commander who thinks he’s just  _ hot shit  _ right in the skull. His body falls with a thud. 

 

Keith’s knees buckle and he kneels over, a scream erupting from his vocal cords that will haunt Lance until the day he dies. He will always, always think of it.

 

“Fuck!” Lance yells. He takes his lover in his arms, cooing and shushing him, a sob stuck in his throat. They’re both crying. Keith can’t breathe, he’s dying, he’s choking on his own blood. There’s a fucking spear in his abdomen.

 

“Lance! What’s going on?” Shiro’s voice sounds worried from both of their helmets, creating a horrible, screeching echo. “Is everything okay?!”

 

“Dying--he’s dying, fuck, please come quick, please,” Lance gasps through the tears running down his cheeks. “He-he--the commander, uh, the commander f-flanked us. Keith is-he’s hurt, please.” 

 

Lance doesn’t hear a word his teammates say after that. He’s too focused on clutching the boy he loves in his arms, soaked in his blood, running sticky fingers through his hair.

 

“It’s okay, baby, it’s okay,” he manages between sobs. 

 

“Hurts.”

 

“I know-- _ fuck _ , sweetheart, stay with me, okay? Do you know your name?”

 

“‘S Keeth.” He sounds so, so out of it. 

 

“Good, baby. That’s good. You’re doing well,” Lance sniffs, rocking the raven in his arms. “We can’t take it out yet, okay? It’ll make it worse. Just breathe.”

 

They lay there for what feels like decapheebs, waiting for help to arrive. Lance feels his eyes grow heavy with exhaustion. The last thing he sees before everything goes black is Shiro’s tear-soaked features, picking his brother up effortlessly and running as fast as he can.

 

.｡.:*☆

  
  


It’s been twelve dobashes. Lance woke a while ago, but he hasn’t done anything, really. Only took a few sips of water and moved his blankets to the pods. 

 

The blue light encasing Keith glows softly. He looks peaceful, eyes and mouth closed. His heart is still beating, thank God, but his organs aren’t looking too hot. The spear  _ just  _ missed his liver. He almost died. 

 

“You need to eat,” Shiro says from beside him. He’s been a mess, too. Neither of them have showered off Keith’s blood, now dried. Lance can’t imagine how this must feel for Shiro. He’s his  _ brother _ . Talk about being upset, Jesus.

 

“You first.” 

  
  


“ _ Lance _ ,” the elder sighs, but there’s no malice there. 

 

“‘Y’know,” the latter starts, “if you wanna, like, talk about it, we can. We’re the two most important people in Keith’s life, right? He’d want us to be there for each other during this.”

 

Shiro smiles a tired, content little smile. Lance takes that as a victory. 

 

“You’re  _ so  _ perfect for Keith. He loves you so much, Lance.” 

 

“I know.” Lance swallows the bile rising up in his throat. He runs a shaky hand through his curls.

 

“I’m gonna go get something to eat. Want anything?” Shiro asks. 

 

“That’d be great, thanks.” 

 

Then, Lance is left alone. 

 

.｡.:*☆

 

Lance must’ve drifted off, because he wakes up to someone calling his name. “ _ Lance _ ,” they huff. The voice sounds strangely familiar. Is it time for school already?

 

“Five more minutes, Mama.”

 

The person laughs. It’s a pretty laugh. The paladin cracks open one eye to identify them. When he sees who it is, they widen so big they almost bulge out of his head.

 

“Keith?” 

 

“Hi, baby.” His voice sounds a little breathless, purple bruises under his eyes that make him look tired, but he’s as breathtaking as the day he first saw him. “I missed you.”

 

“I-I missed you too,” he gasps, taking the smaller boy in his arms and squeezing him as gently as he can. The wound appears to be gone, but there’s a large, nasty scar that even the pods wouldn’t be able to fix. “I was so, so worried.’

 

“‘M sorry,” Keith sighs, melting into his boyfriend’s touch.

 

“Don’t be, angel. Don’t be.” 

 

“Does Shiro know you’re awake?” Lance asks after a long while of inhaling Keith’s scent, clean and warm despite his time in the pods. He rocks the latter in his arms softly, stroking at his hair.

 

“Mhm.” Keith’s voice is muffled by Lance’s shirt. He’s so cute. Lance tells him as much, relishing in the musical giggle he receives. 

 

Keith seems to be okay, truly. He’s a little wobbly on his feet and a little sick from being in the pod, but both of those are normal side effects. He’s a bit clingy, but Lance doesn’t mind. He expected that, too. 

 

His lover gets cute when he’s clingy. He’s like an octopus, latching onto Lance and whining to be held and cuddled. He’s sweetest like this, soft and snuggly. 

 

Pidge and Hunk pitch in to make Keith a cake that tastes  _ exactly  _ like chocolate and vanilla. It’s really good. Keith sits in Lance’s lap while they eat, munching quietly. 

 

Keith has a hard time expressing his adoration and fondness for Lance through words alone. He’s become accustomed to “I love you”’s, but he still has difficulty truly relaying all his thoughts and feelings verbally. Instead, he opts for  _ showing  _ Lance, whether that be by babbling on and on about his knife collection because Lance loves when he’s passionate, watching a movie bundled up on the couch, or having a date in zero-g, just the two of them. 

 

Keith seems scared of being away from Lance. The brunette, on the contrary, doesn’t want to let his boyfriend out of his site. They’re both nervous and on-edge. 

 

They crawl into the big bed in their newly shared room. Keith rests his head against Lance’s chest, hand on his heart. Lance feels it beat out of control.

 

“Did you ever find Skygar?” Keith asks. 

 

“Nope. Son of a bitch sent the signal to lure us out there. Allura’s labelled him an outlaw of the galaxy. Isn’t that cool? I still can’t believe she can do shit like that.” 

 

Keith snorts at that, and they share a grin. 

 

“‘M tired,” Keith says. “Even after sleeping for so long.”

 

“Me too. The pods tire you out.”

 

They lay in bed together for a long while, basking in each other’s company. Lance plays with Keith’s hair, scritching at his scalp. His eyes droop. 

 

They fall asleep to the sound of each other’s breathing.

  
  


.｡.:*☆

 

It ends like this: Lance wakes up,  _ again,  _ this time to the sound of alarms blaring. He shoots up like his ass is on fire, wiping drool from his chin. “‘M up, ‘m up!” 

 

Wiping his eyes blearily, Lance takes a moment to assess the situation. The source of the noise seems to coming from something in front of him. 

 

It comes to him with a flourish. The pod’s alarms are blaring. The pod’s alarms are blaring because Keith is still  _ inside  _ one. The pod’s alarms are blaring because Keith’s vitals are critically low. 

 

It was a dream. Lance waking up to Keith was a dream. It’s still the same day. 

 

Once again, Lance is alone.

**Author's Note:**

> for cy.  
> varaleo on tumblr


End file.
